A handmade sesame mooncake is pictured in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]

As Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, bakeries in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, are testing new flavors to meet rising demand while preserving culinary heritage.

SepBakery, a popular local chain established in 2005, has long attracted customers with its savory mooncakes filled with meat and diced bamboo shoots. This year, it launched a new variety featuring dried radish and pork. Wrapped in a flaky crust, the mooncake offers a savory-spicy flavor and highlights a radish variety listed as Zhejiang's intangible cultural heritage.

Cai Zhi Zhai, a century-old pastry shop, is known for its handcrafted vegetarian mooncakes. Available in salted pepper, mixed nuts, and black sesame, the pastries are prepared entirely by artisans with over four decades of experience. Each step — from filling preparation to shaping and baking — is performed with traditional tools, resulting in light, delicate textures.

In Hangzhou's Tangqi town, tuzao (earthen oven) mooncakes are enjoying record sales. Produced by a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage workshop, the pastries are baked in a 50-year-old clay oven that gives them a nostalgic flavor. A new handmade sesame variety has quickly become a customer favorite.

For consumers seeking a wider range of tastes, Alibaba Group's grocery retail arm, Hema, offers mooncakes in both classic and unconventional flavors — including durian with cheese and red bean paste with pine nuts and tangerine peel.